Crumpling paper is a great way to accent a page and give it a bit of texture. Crumpling is a form of distressing because the act of crumpling alters the paper giving it a worn look and feel. Here are some of the "tools" that you'll need for crumpling: paper, water, mini iron and teflon sheet or ironing pad.

All types of paper can be crumpled, from patterned paper to cardstock. We'll start with patterned paper first since it is lighter in weight and easy to work with. Trim the paper a little larger than what you'll need for the project. With one hand, push the middle of the paper inward using your thumb collapsing your hand to bend, crease and form the paper. Doing this relieves the tension of the paper making it easier to crumple without damage.

Continue to crumple the paper using two hands if want. Keep folding over the edges as you ball up the paper into a smaller size.

This is what the paper may look like after you've crumpled it up:

Unfold the ball of paper and smooth out with your fingers onto the teflon mat.

You can stop here and use the paper as is for a very rugged look. The paper can be inked or further distressed by sanding, it's up to you and your project! If this look is TOO rugged for you, the next step is to iron down some of the wrinkles. Take out your water sprayer and spray water onto the paper. You can be liberal with the water, just don't completely soak it.

Warm the iron to a high heat. A cotton setting is a good temperature. You do not need to have water in the iron, dry is fine. A craft iron (mine is by Clover found at Michael's) or travel iron is ideal. However, if you are using a household iron, it is recommended to add some foil over the surface of the iron BEFORE heating. You'll want a smooth surface to iron the paper with and to protect your paper from any contaminants that may be on the iron's surface (like starch). Make sure the surface under the paper is heat resistant and as smooth as possible. A teflon mat and/or Adhesive Tech's Work Surface is perfect to use for this next step. Place the wet paper on the mat and start ironing. Turn the paper over and iron the back side of it. Keep turning it over until the paper is completely dry. The iron will easily glide across the paper and it will feel dry to the touch.

The result will be a worn-looking piece of paper with wrinkles and little 3-D texture. If you are concerned about bulk in your album but like a bit of distress, this is the way to go!

Crumpling with cardstock is a bit more difficult because of the weight and stiffness of the paper. You do need to work a little more carefully when crumpling because you don't want to tear the paper more than necessary. If you want a lot of texture for your project, crumple the dry cardstock just as in the patterned paper method above. I like to start off by spraying the paper with water first so that the paper fibers are softer and easier to fold with less concern for tearing.

The same process of pushing in with your thumb then folding up the paper can be used here too.

Open the balled paper up and flatten on the work surface. You can let the paper dry naturally at this step to maintain a lot of texture.

If you would like a smoother surface, use the iron to flatten the paper a bit.

I still usually have a couple minor edge tears in the paper even when wetting it first, but that adds to the distress effect at the end.

Crumpling is not an exact science and tends to produce a different result based on the type of paper that you're crumpling, how tight you crumple up the paper and whether you iron it or not. Try out these different techniques and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery soon!

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